equine therapy

Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) is a highly prevalent and frequently pathogenic infection of equids. The most serious clinical consequences of infection are abortion and equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM). The previous consensus statement was published in 2009 and considered pathogenesis, strain variation, epidemiology, diagnostic testing, vaccination, outbreak prevention and control, and treatment. A recent survey of American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine large animal diplomates identified the need for a revision to this original consensus statement...

OBJECTIVE: Plasma cytokine adsorption has shown benefit as an adjunctive therapy in human sepsis but has yet to be investigated in horses. We hypothesized that ex vivo filtration of equine plasma with a novel cytokine adsorption device would significantly reduce concentrations of lipopolysaccharide-stimulated cytokines. We also hypothesized that the device would adsorb medications commonly used to treat sepsis. ANIMALS: 8 horses owned by North Carolina State University...

Enthusiasm for the use of hormones to ameliorate symptoms of perimenopause and menopause has waxed and waned over the years. Both treatment for symptoms and training of women's health care practitioners in the management of menopause have sharply declined since publication of the Women's Health Initiative initial results in 2002. Findings from that trial, which treated a population of older, asymptomatic patients, have been extrapolated over the past 21 years to all estrogen products, all menopausal women, and all delivery mechanisms...

Trimethoprim-sulfonamide (TMPS) combinations are widely used to treat a range of infectious diseases in horses, but some equine practitioners are reluctant to use them for treatment of both neonatal and older foals. Considering the emergence of increased antimicrobial resistance, the use of protected antimicrobials commonly prescribed to foals should be avoided and alternative first-line therapy considered, where appropriate. This review examines the characteristics and pharmacokinetics of TMPS and its suitability for treatment of foals...

The term 'gene doping' is used to describe the use of any unauthorized gene therapy techniques. We developed a test for five likely candidate genes for equine gene doping: EPO , FST , GH1 , IGF1, and ILRN1 . The test is based on real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and includes separate screening and confirmation assays that detect different unique targets in each transgene. For doping material, we used nonviral (plasmid) and viral (recombinant adeno-associated virus) vectors carrying complementary DNA for the targeted genes; the vectors were accurately quantified by digital PCR...

OBJECTIVE: To explore the risk of breast cancer associated with menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), including the various progestogens used today. METHODS: The study included postmenopausal women over 40 years from the National Health Insurance Database in South Korea (2011-2014) who either used MHT for over 6 months (MHT group) or never used MHT (non-MHT group) and were matched 1:1 based on several variables using propensity score matching. Both groups were followed until 2020...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of equine-assisted therapy for the static and dynamic balance in the rehabilitation of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy maintaining obtained improvement 8-weeks after the end of the intervention. METHOD: The study lasted 28 weeks, of which the intervention lasted 12 weeks. Measurements were taken before, in the middle, after the end of the intervention and follow-up after 12 weeks. Paediatric Balance Scale and dynamic plate were used to evaluate the balance...

Equine Facilitated Physical Therapy (EFPT) lacks consistent documentation due to being an unconventional physical therapy treatment to chronic low back pain patients (LBP) and lacking rehabilitation outcome measure tools for a stable (equestrian) environment. The objectives were to develop an online evaluation tool as well as to define inter- and intra-rater reliability to validate the outcome measurement tool "Evaluation of maintaining sitting position (on a horse) and walking (short distances)" designed for LBP patients in EFPT"...

Amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cells (AF-MSCs), which can be obtained from fetal tissue, reportedly have self-renewal capacity and multi-lineage differentiation potential. The aim of this study was to identify the biological characteristics of AF-MSCs and evaluate their stability and safety in long-term culture. To confirm the biological characteristics of AF-MSCs, morphology, proliferation capacity, karyotype, differentiation capacity, gene expression level, and immunophenotype were analyzed after isolating AF-MSCs from equine amniotic fluid...

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OBJECTIVE: To compare plasma l-lactate (LAC) values between samples collected from jugular and cephalic venipuncture in healthy horses and systemically ill horses. DESIGN: Prospective, experimental study. SETTING: Large animal university teaching hospital. ANIMALS: Thirty healthy adult university-owned horses and 43 client-owned horses presenting to the large animal hospital for elective surgical procedures or for emergent medical evaluation of systemic illness...

INTRODUCTION: Animal-assisted and nature-based interventions in psychosocial treatment for various groups of clients have been studied internationally. However, there is little knowledge about how young adults with autism experience participation in such types of interventions. This clinical study aimed to describe the feasibility of animal-assisted and nature-based activities on a farm as a complementary intervention for young adults with autism and social withdrawal. METHODS: The participants were aged 18-30 years, diagnosed with autism and social withdrawal, with no organised occupation during the previous year...

Studies carried out in several species have demonstrated that detection of low-calorie sweeteners in the lumen of the intestine, by the sweet receptor, T1R2-T1R3, initiates a signaling pathway leading to enhanced expression and activity of intestinal Na+ /glucose cotransporter 1, SGLT1. This results in an increased gut capacity to absorb glucose, sodium chloride and water, the basis for oral rehydration therapy. Horses express T1R2, T1R3 and downstream signaling elements in the intestinal tissue. As such, the potential of sweetener-stimulation of T1R2-T1R3 leading to upregulation of SGLT1 allows the provision of more glucose (energy) and hydration for horses...

INTRODUCTION: Alpha 2 macroglobulin (A2M), a multi-functional protein in the plasma protease inhibitor class, regulates proinflammatory cytokines and the clearance of chondrodestructive enzymes in cases of joint injury and osteoarthritis (OA). The purpose of this study was to compare A2M concentrations in equine plasma samples processed by three commercial devices developed for stall-side regenerative joint therapy. METHODS: Plasma samples were obtained from healthy adult horses ( N  = 13)...

Wound healing after skin injury is a complex process, particularly in equines where leg wounds are prevalent and their repair is complicated due to the anatomical characteristics. Conventional treatments are not effective enough. The umbilical cord offers an unlimited source of adult mesenchymal stem cells (ucMSCs) from Wharton's jelly tissue. The present study aims to demonstrate the safety and therapeutic potential of the allogeneic use of equine ucMSCs (e-ucMSCs) in the healing of severe equine leg wounds...

Equine-assisted therapies are becoming increasingly popular for addressing physical and psychological disabilities in clients. The role of the horse's welfare in equine-assisted service receives increasing attention in research. Several studies have shown that horses are able to perceive human emotions and respond to human stress responses. However, no research has yet looked at the other side of the coin-whether and how humans perceive and react to equine stress levels during equine-assisted services. To fill this gap in the research, we employed a within-subjects design, in which horse-naïve participants had a standardized interaction with both an experimentally stressed horse and an experimentally relaxed horse...

This study examined human-animal symbiosis in an animal-assisted intervention through observations of animal maintenance behaviors. The rise of psychotherapy, learning, and recreation incorporating animals warrants exploration of the welfare of the animals involved in these interventions. The analysis of welfare in multispecies engagements can be discussed in terms of symbiosis. Regarding an intervention's animal provider (e.g., therapy horse) and human recipient (psychotherapy client), the balance of cost and benefit is important...

Tissue fibrosis following tendon injury is a major clinical problem due to the increased risk of re-injury and limited treatment options; however, its mechanism remains unclear. Evidence suggests that insufficient resolution of inflammation contributes to fibrotic healing by disrupting tenocyte activity, with the NF-κB pathway being identified as a potential mediator. Equine embryonic stem cell (ESC) derived tenocytes may offer a potential cell-based therapy to improve tendon regeneration, but how they respond to an inflammatory environment is largely unknown...

BACKGROUND: Equine herpes virus type 1 (EHV-1) infection in horses is associated with upper respiratory disease, neurological disease, abortions, and neonatal death. REVIEW QUESTION: Does pharmacological therapy decrease either the incidence or severity of disease or infection caused by EHV-1 in domesticated horses? METHODS: A systematic review was preformed searching AGRICOLA, CAB Abstracts, Cochrane, PubMed, Web of Science, and WHO Global Health Index Medicus Regional Databases to identify articles published before February 15, 2021...

BACKGROUND: Overriding spinous processes, also known as 'kissing spines', are one of the most common causes of back pain in horses. The aim of this study was to investigate which options for diagnosis and treatment are preferred by equine orthopaedic specialists and assess which techniques are used for local injection. METHODS: An online survey was distributed among members of the European/American College of Veterinary Surgeons, the European/American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, the International Society of Equine Locomotor Pathology and nationally recognised advanced equine orthopaedic practitioners...